Electricity

David

During my recovery from CABGX3 surgery, I found it very difficult to sleep whilst trying to lie on my back all night in the intensive care recovery room. The pain in my throat, the stitches in my ribs, and the general aches all contributed to my discomfort.

Rather than counting sheep, I tried reciting poetry and song lyrics to myself. My thinking was that if my memory was still good, then my brain was still working well, and then the rest of my body would follow along and heal.

Sometimes I would muddle up the verses, or find that I could not remember the exact words. Yet the exercise helped to take my mind off the hurt I was feeling.

The line that helped me the most comes from Joni Mitchell’s song “Electricity”. Near the end there is a couplet that goes “While the song that he sang her to sooth her to sleep/ runs all through her circuits like a heartbeat.”

Yes, I was trying to quietly sing myself to sleep. Yes, I knew my heart was mended and was beating again on its own after it had spent eighty minutes not beating while I was under the skilled care of a wonderful surgical team, including the heart/lung machine. Knowing that the blood was running through all my blood vessels gave me faith that I would recover, and recover well. With that happy thought, drifting into sleep became easier.

I am a volunteer at the heart hospital where I had my operation. I visit with patients and their families both pre- and post-op to let them meet and talk to someone who has been through what they are experiencing. Letting them know that disrupted sleep patterns are a norm for most heart patients, I tell them what worked for me. And I let them know that I am a walking, breathing, smiling example that heart surgery can work, and the most important choice they can make to have a good recovery is to have a positive attitude.

Patients have often told me that my story and my encouragement helped them, which makes my heart glad too.

David

Delray Beach, Florida